REVIEW: Cobra Kai – Season 6, Part 1 (2024)

Television Reviews

Cobra Kai is entering its last season like a karate champion fighting in one last tournament. It has a reputation, it gets a round of applause every time it returns, and it knows the way it performs its last match will determine its legacy. And like any good fighter, it knows preparation is key, which is why Part 1 of Season 6 is all setup, putting the pieces in place for the grand finale: the Sekai Taikai tournament, a worldwide karate competition in which enemies will face each other – and, more devastatingly, friends.

In this way, Cobra Kai Season 6 part 1 has a similar problem to Horizon: An American Saga Part 1; it’s the first part of a longer story that won’t be finished until next year, so any appraisal of it is essentially judging the first act of a story. To that end, it doesn’t have a lot of payoffs, with the various conflicts unresolved at this point. However, it has a leg up on Horizon because it’s broken down into episodes, each with its own mini-arc, meaning it feels a bit more complete despite being open-ended, and I think anyone who watches part 1 will be salivating for more. (And this is coming from someone who loved Horizon.)

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 is mainly concerned with showing the unity that has resulted from Terry Silver’s satisfying defeat at the end of Season 5. The Cobra Kai dojo is no more, and Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso are united as the senseis of Miyagi-Do/Eagle Fang, with Chozen acting as the balance between Johnny’s macho aggression and Daniel’s centered discipline. The first couple of episodes focus on showing Johnny and Daniel’s factions coming together, having powered through their growing pains and learned from each other, and it’s rewarding to see them and their students form a real bond after everything we’ve seen them endure.

However, there is conflict brewing under the surface, which is both brought out and conquered – not always in that order – through karate, which has been the point of Cobra Kai from the beginning. Karate means something to these characters, and it is the constant through the hardships life forces on them. Another constant is John Kreese, the former sensei of Cobra Kai who, in last season’s final moments, escaped from prison just as Daniel and Johnny thought they were finally done with the evil dojo. Cobra Kai may be gone, but its spirit lives on in its master, and Kreese once again plays the role of the devil, tempting those who would stray to his dark path and forging his warriors to do battle with the light.

And yet, even Kreese has a journey, and the juxtaposition between him and the heroes is expertly handled. Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 finds the good guys on the rise while the villain is at his lowest point (minus the whole prison thing). For the inevitable showdown that will come later in the season, Johnny, Daniel, and their students must falter while Kreese becomes the most dangerous version of himself, and the show handles this as skillfully as it has all its arcs. The unity Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang have forged shows cracks as Johnny is faced with growing family responsibilities, and Daniel learns that the foundation of his moral philosophy may not be as noble as he once thought. Meanwhile, the kids are all preparing for the next stage of their lives, be it college or the unknown, and their friendships are tested just when everyone thought they were finally solid. Kreese, meanwhile, must face the weaknesses that have made him lose in the past and purge them from himself – as well as his new students.

The Sekai Taikai is the nexus of these journeys, a place where everyone is looking to prove themselves for various reasons. For the students, this manifests as a series of challenges to decide which ones will represent the dojo in the tournament. Each of the main kids has their own reason for needing a win, and in grand Cobra Kai fashion, it’s hard to root for any of them over the others. But what makes Season 6 Part 1 so great is that they’re not just the same old conflicts; in fact, the show spends a good amount of time getting the characters to overcome their animosities. These are new challenges, new insecurities, and new heartaches that they can only conquer through karate. Meanwhile, Daniel and Johnny, while working together better than they ever have, also find it hard to let go of their difficulties in accepting each other’s approaches to karate. The sport means something different to both men, and while it makes them a good team, it threatens to keep them forever apart.

I’m trying to be as vague as I can with the plot because the last thing I want to do is ruin something as special as Cobra Kai for anyone. And this show remains as special as it’s been from the beginning. The characters are still wonderful and human, with each of them, even the minor ones, giving us something to relate to. William Zabka and Ralph Macchio are still terrific as the leads, managing to allow their characters to grow without losing what makes them unique. In Johnny’s case, that’s his masculinity and the humor that comes with it, and there are plenty of laughs in Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1. Most of these come from Johnny’s various methods of getting the students ready for the Sekai Taikai, which are as unorthodox as they’ve always been. Daniel is still the series’ moral center, trying to live up to Mr. Miyagi (who, as always, envelops this show with his immortal spirit) while remembering that he should be open to other viewpoints. And Martin Kove once again makes John Kreese an intimidating villain, all the more compelling for his humanity. Like the namesake of his dojo, Kreese always seems prepared to strike, even when he’s sitting by a campfire smoking one of those huge cigars of his. Yuji Okumoto is a lot of fun as Chozen, now a man adrift in the world, not knowing where he belongs and choosing to be of use however he can. Of the kids, Peyton List is the standout as Tory, continuing to evolve the most damaged character in the series, while Oona O’Brien takes Devon to some unexpected places.

But again, this is all setup, and while there are some excellent moments and all the episodes are good, it won’t feel complete until the rest of the season plays out. Still, Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 is the show in excellent form, preparing us for the end of the line for these kids and their mentors as they prepare for the next stages of their lives.